I am going to preface by saying this: You may get one surge that will lead to ovulation. You may get a surge that will not lead to ovulation. You may get multiple surges leading to no ovulation. You may get near positives and never get an actual positive. You may have PCOS or other hormonal complications that will never allow you to surge or ovulate. You may have constant lines and never surge.

There are many variables and many ways that ovulation tests can be viewed or read.
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If you read the post about home pregnancy test varieties, this one will blow it away. Pregnancy tests are simple. You can test with blood, a stream of urine or urine in a cup. With ovulation tests you can test with a stream of urine, urine in a cup, taking your temperature every morning at the same time, using a watch during certain time periods and also through blood tests or ultrasounds.

This post will only talk about a few. Midstream and cup collection will be the two biggest. There will be a small bit about taking temperature and using the watch or monitor, so bear with me.

Midstream tests

There are variety of companies who create midstream OPK’s. ClearBlue, Answer and those from Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com are some of the more popular. These tests look like the home pregnancy tests, so make sure you have them separated so you can identify them properly.

With these tests you will get a smiley face for the digitals and a line for the regular version. For your lines, you want the test line to be AS DARK OR DARKER THAN the control line. Remember, you may always have a line there, but it’s lighter when you do not have a surge.

If you use the ClearBlue digital OPK, DO NOT open it and analyze the lines inside. They are often lighter than the control and will confuse you. Trust your smiley face or empty circle to tell you the truth.

Dipping tests

These are often referred to as the “internet cheapies” or Wondfo’s. They’re small strips you dip into a cup of collected urine. These are my personal favorite. They’re cheap, easy to transport and easy to read. You must follow the instructions properly to insure you get the right answer. Early-pregnancy-tests.com and Amazon have great deals on them.

The same goes with these as with the midstream. The test line must be AS DARK OR DARKER THAN the control line. If your lines smear or there is no control, test again. That’s what’s great about the dipping ones. You don’t have to pee again, just use the same collection.

Temping

Full fledged charters will also use a basal body thermometer to help determine ovulation. Please note: This will NOT predict ovulation, but it will help confirm what an OPK will predict.

With temping, you take your tempature every morning at the same time after 3 or more hours of sleep. There are many rules when it comes to temping the proper way to get the proper answers. Please ask questions and read Taking Charge Of Your Fertility. It’s a FANTASTIC book with questions you’ll have and their answers, scenarios played out and charts to help get you started. Also check out FertilityFriend.com. It’s an online version of charting that has “classes” to teach you.

Using a watch or monitor

No, I don’t mean a regular watch, I mean the OvWatch. This watch requires you to follow specific instructions when wearing it, how to read it properly and sensors to be used.

The monitor I’m referring to is the ClearBlue Easy Fertility Monitor. It’s expensive, requires sensors daily and can be difficult to read if you don’t follow the instructions. I have heard great reviews and outcomes. You can also often find the monitor and/or sensors on Ebay or Amazon for decent prices.

There are many ways to help find out the right times to time sex to achieve pregnancy or to avoid it. These are only a few ways. Never be afraid to ask questions. I HIGHLY recommend reading the book, it will answer so many questions you never knew you had. You can find some on Ebay, Amazon, Barnes&Noble and many more places.